Alert archive / Wyoming / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2024

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 430

June 17, 20244 counties in Montana; 6 counties in Wyoming

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jun 17, 2024, 4:32 PM MDT for 4 counties in Montana; 6 counties in Wyoming. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 17, 2024, 4:32 PM MDT (22:32 UTC)
Expired
Jun 17, 2024, 9:31 PM MDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Carter County, MT, Custer County, MT, Fallon County, MT, Powder River County, MT, Campbell County, WY, Converse County, WY, Crook County, WY, Johnson County, WY, Niobrara County, WY, Weston County, WY

The radar

The Rapid City radar (KUDX), 209 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:32 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
5%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
2%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
50%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

2 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 17, 4:36 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCuster, Powder River39 min
Jun 17, 6:58 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningUNRCrook62 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Rapid City, SD (KUNR), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 206 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Rapid City, SD at 12:00Z on 2024-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Rapid City, SD at 12:00Z on 2024-06-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 2 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
2056 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
123 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

914 
WWUS20 KWNS 172230
SEL0  
SPC WW 172230
MTZ000-WYZ000-180500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 430
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
430 PM MDT Mon Jun 17 2024

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Southeastern Montana
  East-central and northeastern Wyoming

* Effective this Monday afternoon and evening from 430 PM until
  1100 PM MDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
    inches in diameter possible
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible

SUMMARY...Thunderstorms should continue to develop on the east side
of higher terrain around the Bighorns and northern Laramie Range,
and move northward to northeastward.  Activity should cross a narrow
corridor of favorable instability and shear for large hail and
severe gusts to result, before weakening closer to the Dakotas
border.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 50
statute miles east and west of a line from 110 miles south of
Gillette WY to 30 miles west northwest of Baker MT. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
tornadoes.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 429...

AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
21030.

...Edwards

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 17, 2:45 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarter, Powder River90 min
Jun 17, 5:55 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarter, Powder River95 min
Jun 16, 7:38 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGoshen2 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Wyoming, 2024Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Montana, 2024Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2024

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.